


Angsty Ending

by PiscesDragon



Series: Choose Your Adventure [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura lives because I say so, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Jealousy, Lance is such a helper, M/M, Pining Shiro (Voltron), guilty feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-04-06 23:46:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19073134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PiscesDragon/pseuds/PiscesDragon
Summary: Shiro worries that he’s created a big problem for himself when he discouraged Griffin’s interest in Keith. But is it fair to keep everyone else away from Keith just to protect his own pathetic heart?Choose Your Adventure: Ending 2 — Recommend reading “Permission” (first in this series) first, but can be read alone.





	Angsty Ending

**Author's Note:**

> I'd suggest reading the first story in this series first - but this can also be read by itself!
> 
> Thanks to DropsOfAutumn  
>  for her feedback and editing on this series!

 

“So what did James Griffin do to piss you off?” Keith asked in lieu of a greeting as he sat down his tray. He settled into the seat across from Shiro, indigo eyes focused  intently and ignoring the noise coming from the rest of the cafeteria.

Shiro looked up at him in surprise. “Why? What makes you think he did something?”

“For the last week, every time I’ve seen both of you in the same room you’re giving him your patented ‘murder stare’,” Keith said with a laugh.

“What are you talking about?” Shiro asked, trying to keep his voice from betraying his sudden nervousness. ”I don’t  look at people like that — unless  maybe I’m  _ actually _ trying to kill them. And  thankfully there hasn’t been cause for that in a while.”

“No, not your ‘I’m coming for your soul’  look ,” Keith explained. “The murder stare is the one where you’re not  actually going to hurt the person, but you  REALLY ,  really want to. It’s the  look you usually give Slav.”

“ Really ?” Shiro  could n’t help but find the comment  extremely humorous.  Apparently Keith  knew him better than he  knew himself. Not  entirely surprising considering how long they’d been friends.

“Yeah.  Mostly just Slav. So it’s kind of concerning that James has earned it,” Keith said, eyebrow raised in a questioning gaze.

He didn’t  know why Keith was  suddenly worried for James’ safety, but the interest he showed for the man’s well-being was making Shiro anxious. Instead of addressing the issue, Shiro dodged. “I didn’t think you even liked Griffin.”

“Did you get a cat I don’t  know about?” asked Keith, head tilted to the side and a puzzled  look scrunching his face  adorably .

“What?” Shiro asked, thrown off by the change in  topic . “How is that even relevant?”

“The only explanation I can come up with is you got a cat and he killed it.”

“Why is THAT your solution?” Shiro asked, clearly confused.

“Because there’s  literally nothing else you care about enough to make you give James that  look .” The fact that Keith kept saying ‘James’ like they were close personal friends was beginning to piss Shiro off. When they’d been cadets, his near daily complaints had been about  ‘ Griffin’ or ‘that bastard’. “Well, besides the Paladins and we’re all fine. So I don’t get it.”

In truth, there  _ was _ something Shiro cared about more than anything else, and it was sitting right in front of him wearing a crooked grin he wanted to kiss off his face.

But he couldn’t. Because they didn’t have that kind of relationship. 

Because Shiro didn’t  know if Keith would want that. 

And the fear of ruining their friendship forever prevented him from asking, because — of course — Shiro cared about him more than anything else in the universe.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Shiro responded, refusing to meet Keith’s gaze. He twirled the pasta on his plate with his fork.

“So what did he do?” Keith pressed.

Agitated by the whole conversation and the fact that Keith wouldn’t let up about it, Shiro replied through gritted teeth, “He put me in an awkward position, and I didn’t appreciate it.”

“So what, that’s unforgivable?” Keith asked. “I’m just saying, it must have been something pretty bad —”

“Just let it go already, ok Keith?” Shiro growled,  clearly losing his temper.

Keith’s eyes widened in surprise. “Geez, forget I mentioned it,” he said, hurt coloring his voice.

Shiro  felt immediate remorse for snapping at him. “I’m sorry. It’s just… It’s been a rough day.”

“ Obviously ,” Keith said, giving Shiro a weary frown. “ Maybe you  _ do  _ need a cat.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been  kind of… off,  lately ,” Keith answered  carefully . “Something’s  clearly bothering you. And you won’t talk to me about it. I thought  maybe I’d  finally figured it out and James was the problem.”

He’d never realized how much attention Keith paid to his behavior. It was a little disconcerting to be called out so  specifically .

Shiro looked away, at a loss for how to respond. There  _ was _ something bothering him. But he  could n’t explain it to Keith.

He  could n’t explain how  lately it was taking everything in him to resist the urge to pull Keith into his arms whenever they saw each other. How much he missed him when Keith was off on a mission with the Blades. How Shiro worried when he was gone because it  felt like his heart was halfway across the universe, too. How often he dreamed about his friend in a way that was much  _ more _ than friendly.

And how guilty he  felt about it in the morning.

Shiro’s gaze fell on his best friend, sitting  silently across the table as if his patience would be rewarded with the answers he sought. He was beautiful.

He was everything.

And Shiro  could n’t tell him the truth. That he loved him. And that he would do anything to stop anyone from coming between them.

Ignoring the burning ache in his chest, Shiro  finally murmured, “It’s nothing for you to worry about. Just something I’ve got to deal with.”

He  _ had _ tried to get over his crush on his friend. Hell, he’d even considered asking out someone from his bridge crew. But  ultimately , Shiro  could n’t do it. It wasn’t fair to get involved with someone else when he was  completely hung up on Keith.

There just seemed to be no way to make his feelings  _ go away _ . And everything Keith did only made it more difficult.

Like now, when Keith reached over to put a hand over Shiro’s metal one, resting next to his tray on the table. Keith squeezed his fingers, his voice only loud enough to be heard over the hum of the conversations going on around them, “I wish you’d just talk to me. You  know I would do anything to help you.”

“I  know ,” Shiro said  sadly , his eyes sliding away from the violet that was pinning him down. “This isn’t something you want to be involved in, though.”

Keith waited until Shiro’s eyes found his again. “Are you sure about that?”

It was a strange response, leaving Shiro confused for a moment.  _ Did he  _ _ know _ _? What was he saying?  _ Shiro thought  frantically. It  could n’t  possibly be meant as the clue Shiro  desperately wanted it to be.

“It’s not your problem. It’s mine,” Shiro reiterated. He needed to not talk about this anymore, or he was going to say something stupid and ruin everything.

Keith’s hand pulled back from his, but the concerned  look on his face remained. “One of these days, you’re going to realize that your problems ARE my problems. We’re a team, remember?”

Shiro closed his eyes for a moment, taking a breath to gather himself. “Not… not in this.”

_ Not in the way I want. _

Keith seemed to recognize that he’d pushed too far, that Shiro was one step away from bolting from the table. He leaned back in his chair, pasting a smirk on his face that  barely hid the worry that remained in his eyes.

“When we get back to Earth, I’m going to find you a cat,” he said, as if a pet would be the solution to all of Shiro’s problems.

Instead of r eplying , Shiro just gave him a blank stare, wondering how he would ever find a way out of his pathetic situation.

And also whether anyone on the ship was allergic to cats — because  suddenly , having at least one thing in his life he was free to snuggle and adore didn’t sound like such a bad idea.

 

*****

Shiro stared at the data pad  blankly , the words blurring together to create an abstract artwork to his tired eyes. The common gathering area, where he had decided to work, was empty and silent. After deciding his quarters were too quiet and lonely, he had hoped to find some company to distract him from his assiduous thoughts. 

Unfortunately, the quiet he’d found instead did little to keep him focused on the reports he needed to read through. Instead his mind had wandered to Keith as well as the impression he’d given Griffin when they had talked days ago.

Keith seemed very familiar with Griffin. It was apparent they had a much different relationship now than Shiro remembered. It made sense — they had both grown up a lot over the years and  obviously had many interests in common. As much as it pained him, it wasn’t a surprise to Shiro that someone like the Lieutenant would show an interest in Keith.

_ But what if those feelings were reciprocated? Had he kept Keith from a relationship he would want because he was being selfish? And what if Griffin realized he’d implied something that wasn’t true — and told Keith? _

Worry twisted his gut as Shiro realized he may have caused an even bigger problem by trying to protect his heart. He  could n’t lose Keith. He just  could n’t.

The sound of the lounge door sliding open distracted him from his maudlin thoughts. Shiro looked up to see Lance sauntering into the room, his arms full of food that Shiro  could only assume Hunk had made. In all the time he’d known Lance, Shiro had never seen him make anything more complicated than food goo.

Noticing the room already had an occupant, Lance looked at him  carefully and asked, “What’s wrong, big guy? You  look a little gloomy.”

_ Great _ , Shiro thought.  _ I’m even projecting my miserableness.  _

He sighed, sounding pitiful. “I’m not  really having the best week.”

“Why’s that?” Lance asked, moving toward the kitchenette area to set down his cargo. Shiro guessed he was setting up a spread for  _ something _ , but he was afraid to ask what it was. His back was turned to the counter, doing something out of Shiro’s view. 

Despair and frustration at everything falling outside of his control prompted Shiro to respond  honestly , “Someone decided to have a discussion with me about the fact that they want to date Keith.”

“That’s not a surprise,” Lance said in a very matter-of-fact manner, making Shiro  feel even worse. “It was only a matter of time before somebody got brave enough to get a straight answer from one of you.”

“What?” Shiro asked, unable to contain his shock.

“Half the ship is hot for Keith! And the other half wouldn’t kick him out of bed,” Lance said, turning to him with a wicked grin. “That man  could get crazy boy band ass if he wanted to.”

“Are you kidding me? Please tell me you’re kidding.” Shiro hoped he didn’t sound as panicked as he  felt . 

He  knew Keith was attractive. He just didn’t realize the rest of the ship was as aware of it as he was.

“Shiro, my man, you need to step up, make a move and lock that down. Soon,” Lance said with emphasis. He moved over to sit at the other end of the couch Shiro had occupied. “Otherwise Keith is going to stop mooning over you long enough to zoom out and see the big picture — and realize he’s got a shit-ton of other options.”

Shiro deflated like a popped balloon. 

Of course, Keith was amazing and other people noticed. Of course, James wouldn’t be the only person that was interested in him. It was inevitable that sooner or later Keith would get involved with  _ someone _ .

Someone that wasn’t Shiro.

“I don’t think Keith  feels that way about me,” he said  sadly .

“For fuck's sake, Shiro,” Lance stormed, trying and failing to control his temper. “ Obviously , whoever came knocking thought so. Would they have bothered checking with  _ you _ first if they didn’t think you guys had that type of relationship? Everybody sees it. Everybody but you.”

“I don’t  know why,” Shiro replied. “It’s not like we’ve done anything that would give people the idea we’re together. Because  obviously , we’re not.”

“And yet,” Lance said  lightly , a knowing smirk taking over his face, “the latest rumor report is that you guys were ‘holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes’ the other day during dinner rush in the mess hall. ”

“It wasn’t like that,” Shiro  quickly defended,  feeling a blush creep onto his face.

“Well,  obviously it  _ looked _ like that to other people, is all I’m saying,” said Lance. “What did you tell Keith’s gentleman caller, anyway?”

“That it wouldn’t be a good idea to pursue him,” Shiro mumbled, his shame evident.

“Well, if you’re going to do something, that’s fine. But if not, you shouldn’t be shooting down anyone who wants to knock on Keith’s door. That’s not fair to him.”

“I  know that,” argued Shiro.

“Then man the fuck up already.” Lance stared at him  directly , as if he  could control Shiro’s actions through sheer willpower. “And do it soon — I’ve got this month for a public declaration of your love in the betting pool and there’s only a few weeks left.”

“ Really , Lance?” Shiro replied with disbelief.

“For as long as I’ve had to witness the both of you being idiots and listen to your nonsense, the least you can do is make sure I win a little money in the process, don’t you think?” said Lance. He tilted his head to the side, considering. “I’ll make you a deal. When it all works out and I win some cash, I’ll pay for whatever you guys do on your first official date.”

He caught onto Lance’s comment about “both of them” but refused to get his hopes up. Instead he asked, “Why do you say ‘official date’ like it’s a thing?”

“Shiro, my man, Hunk and I are close. Best buds,” Lance explained, as if he was giving a lecture. “You  know what we’ve never done in the decade we’ve known each other? Go stargazing on the roof or watch the sunset from the top of a cliff. Only you and Keith can manage to do shit  _ that  _ romantic and tell yourselves it’s normal friend stuff.”

“But it is!” Because with Keith, it felt normal. They’d been doing things like that together since before the Kerberos mission.

Lance pointed a finger at him before getting up to go back to the kitchen area. “ Exactly my point.”

“What are you doing over there, anyway?” Shiro asked, watching him over the back of the couch.

“Oh, Allura and I are having a movie night,” he answered. “Hunk did me a solid and made up some snacks for us. Hey! Why don’t you stick around and have Keith join us? We can make it a double-date.”

Shiro  really didn’t appreciate Lance’s matchmaking — or his wide, smarmy grin. “I don’t think so, Lance.”

“Coward. I’ll ask him for you.” Before Shiro  could stop him, Lance had plucked his comm out of his pocket and called Keith.

Shiro heard Keith’s irritated voice answer from across the room. “What?” 

“Where you at, dude?” Lance asked.

“My room. Why?”

“We’re having a movie night in the lounge. Get your butt down here.”

Expecting Keith to give a reason why he wouldn’t be coming, Shiro was shocked by his response. “Ok.”

The call disconnected, and Lance’s bright smile flashed at him from across the room. “Don’t you dare leave!” he shouted as Shiro began gathering his things.

“This is an awful idea, Lance.”

“No way. You two need to get on the same page. And Allura and I need another couple to hang out with sometimes. It’ll be great,” Lance said.

Shiro doubted that.

  
  


Before long, Keith and Allura had both joined them. And once Keith had settled in next to him on the couch, a line of warmth running along the length of his body where they touched, Shiro forgot why he wanted to leave in the first place.

Lance got comfortable in a large chair, with Allura in his lap, and started the movie. It turned out to be some rom- com with a basic story - boy meets girl,  boy is too shy to ask the girl out, boy prevents everyone else in the vicinity from dating the girl. As the story progressed, the girl begins to think she’s unattractive since everyone she comes into contact with or tries to flirt with ends up running away from her.

Unable to avoid the similarities between the plot and his own life, Shiro wondered if Lance had chosen the movie on purpose. Either that or fate was trying to tell him something.

Shiro began to worry as he watched the character on the screen slip into depression.  _ Would he end up doing this to Keith? By blocking anyone else’s advances on him, would Shiro be the one to make him miserable? _

Halfway through the movie, Lance paused it to run to the restroom, claiming he didn’t want to miss any of it. Keith took the opportunity to grab some snacks, leaving Shiro to ruminate over his choices. He wasn’t being fair to Keith and he needed to change that, regardless of his own feelings on the matter.

As Keith came back to the couch, setting a bowl of popcorn on the small table in front of them, Shiro  could n’t seem to stop himself from asking, “What do you think of James Griffin?”

Keith looked at him  blankly for a few seconds. “I don’t  know … I guess he’s ok. Why?”

“You should ask him out. You  know , if you wanted to,” Shiro said in a rush. He felt warmth rushing to his face.

Keith looked at him as if he’d grown a second head. “And why would I want to do that?”

“If you were interested in him,” Shiro forced out. “I think he’d be interested in you. That’s all I’m saying.”

“Well I’m not. Interested,” Keith retorted, arms crossed and expression stormy. “At all.”

“Oh,” said Shiro. He let out the internal breath he’d been holding, thankful he hadn’t intervened in a negative manner.

“Not in him anyway,” Keith said, giving Shiro a shrewd  look .

“Oh. Well, you should go after what you want,” answers Shiro, as though it was an obvious thing. Because it was. Even if he hated it and it killed him.

“ Really ?”

“Yeah. I’m sure they would be interested,” Shiro answered.  According to Lance,  _ everyone _ on the ship was interested, so it was  definitely factual.

“You think so?” Keith asked, eyeing Shiro  critically .

“Of course. How  could he not be?” It was as close to honesty as Shiro  could stand to get. It would break him to see Keith with someone else, but he’d do whatever he had to.

“I guess I never  really thought he saw me that way,” Keith said. There was a sudden brightness to his eyes, making the purple more vibrant, and Shiro  could n’t pull his gaze away.

Shiro refused to point out that  apparently every single person on the Atlas saw him that way. “I just want you to be happy, Keith.”

“Shiro,” he whispered, moving closer into Shiro’s personal space, slowly, as if a sudden movement might scare him away. The older man didn’t really know what was happening. They’d been talking about someone Keith wanted to go out with, then suddenly Keith was an object in motion. Toward _him_. It made no sense, but his brain cells had lost function, no longer capable of questioning what was happening.

Even though he’d seen it coming, Shiro startled at first when Keith kissed him. Gentle — careful — but when the press of soft,  slightly chapped lips began to pull away, Shiro’s only impulse was to grab the front of Keith’s shirt to pull him closer.

He’d wanted this for SO long, he wasn’t ready to let it go now.

Slanting his mouth, Shiro deepened the kiss and bit back a groan at the caress of Keith’s hands sliding up into the back of his hair. Warm, wet perfect lips slid against his own until they parted, letting Shiro’s tongue explore and taste and — GOD, it was  _ glorious _ .

Until a moan, that might have been his own, woke up the solitary still-functioning brain cell and pointed out to Shiro that he was  finally ,  _ finally _ kissing Keith and it was  really happening.

_ Wait. What was happening?!? _

Shiro pulled back in a sudden movement, eyes snapping open to see violet flutter into view beneath long, dark lashes. With his swollen lips and flushed cheeks, Keith was even more beautiful than normal, which Shiro hadn’t even thought possible. The urge to pull him close again, until oxygen wasn’t even a thing their bodies needed, almost overwhelmed him. But Shiro’s brain — ever helpful — began freaking out instead.

“That was… unexpected,” Shiro said in a low voice, as he released Keith’s shirt from his grip and tried to smooth it out over his chest. The action caused him to feel the solid muscle under the shirt, which Shiro’s lizard brain told him felt extremely nice and would feel even better without the shirt and wasn’t that something they should be exploring? 

Luckily , the one firing brain cell had alerted a few others and were busy trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

“What do you mean?” Keith asked, his face like a flower that had bloomed open for the sun as he looked at Shiro. Something in Shiro’s expression must have ruined it though, because before long he wilted into a worried frown. “Wait. You WERE talking about you, right?”

“What?” Shiro asked, still trying to figure out how they’d gotten from talking about Griffin to making out. “No, I…”

Keith moved back away from him so  quickly he almost fell off the couch, his face a mask of sheer terror. “Oh my God,” he breathed.

“Sweet baby Jesus.” They turned at the same time to see Lance, standing in the doorway with an expression somewhere between amusement and pity.

“Um,” Shiro said  stupidly . He’d  completely forgotten there were other people in the room. His gaze shot over to Allura, still sitting in the chair. She had her hands clasped together and pressed to her mouth, he assumed to keep herself quiet throughout their whole display. Her eyes sparkled with happiness as she vibrated  visibly .

“Don’t mind me,” she whispered with a bright smile.

“Oh my God,” Keith moaned, covering his face with his hands.

Lance moved  quickly over to the couch, slapping  Voltron ’s leader across the back of the head.

“Ow!” Keith said, glaring at him  angrily from beneath his bangs. Even through his own mortification, Shiro  could n’t help but think he looked cute, like an embarrassed little cat. “What the hell?”

“He kissed you back, you moron,” Lance said  flatly .

Keith let his eyes wander to Shiro with a questioning frown.

“And you,” Lance said, turning on Shiro with the same ‘dad voice’ he’d used himself years ago when the paladins got out of line, “tell him.”

He stared at him  pointedly , a battle of wills, until Shiro  finally broke away to  look at Keith. He’d already given himself away, might as well open the throttle and lay everything out in the open. He reached out and grabbed Keith’s hand  tightly .

“I love you.” After all this time of hearing it in his head, it was  amazingly easy for Shiro to say out loud. 

Keith’s mouth dropped open in shock, and then at Shiro’s shy smile of reassurance, it morphed into a blinding smile that lit up the whole room.

Or that may have just been Shiro’s interpretation, since  suddenly his entire world had gotten ten times brighter and his heart felt like it might burst out of his chest at any moment. Keith’s fingers tightened in his own and he squeezed back, never wanting to let go.

“That was NOT what I was going for,” Lance said, eyes widened in shock. He coughed  awkwardly , “But it works!”

Allura stood up  quickly , rushing toward the door and waving at Lance to follow her. “We need… to go. So sorry, but I’ve just remembered… something we need to do. Right, Lance?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he agreed  immediately , still looking a bit like the world had tilted off its axis. “You guys… have fun.”

Before either Keith or Shiro  could respond, the couple had disappeared through the door as it closed with a thud, leaving them alone in the room.

They stared at each other for a moment, unsure where to go from there. So much had changed in the last ten minutes, Shiro could barely process it.

“Well,” Keith said, breaking the awkward silence. “That was smooth.”

Unsure whether he was referring to the kiss, Shiro’s blunt confession or their friends’ exit, Shiro  simply nodded in agreement.

“Did you mean it?” Keith asked  quietly , rubbing  nervously at a seam on his jeans with his thumb.  Momentarily distracted by the movement, Shiro remembered how often he had watched Keith do that when he was younger, sitting outside of an office after getting in trouble.

It was a comforting reminder just then, to realize how long they had known each other. And how far they’d come. So much had changed, yet one thing had never faltered in all that  time.

Shiro still cared about him. So much. It was different,  completely different, than the beginning of their relationship. But his feelings for Keith had only grown as they’d changed, getting stronger.

And just like years ago, Shiro waited  patiently until Keith  finally looked up at him, violet gaze catching grey. 

“Yes,” he answered, voice firm and unwavering, reassuring Keith in the only way he  knew how. “Always.”

**Author's Note:**

> My original intention was to keep this all angst - but my little Sheith-loving heart couldn't help but put the boys together! They didn't get a happy ending in canon, so I feel it's my responsibility to ensure it when I can :D
> 
> I'd love to hear what you thought! Comments and kudos always appreciated!


End file.
